Announcing 12 For 12:  Video Profiles of Top Chicago Brands

Announcing 12 For 12: Video Profiles of Top Chicago Brands

In the fall of 2015 Most Visual Director Chuck Przybyl teamed up with Echelon Design for a new take on their popular 12 for 12 podcast series, launching a web video series telling the stories of upstart Chicago companies and the people behind them.

Hosted by Adam Voss, the series goes behind the scenes with 12 Chicago brands, with just 12 minutes to tell their story. Viewers get a behind the scenes look at the processes, the craftsmen, and the groundbreakers who are remaking the backbone of the Windy City in rapid fashion.

“With this series, there are a lot of people coming at the production from different directions to create this hybrid promotional, but journalistic series,” Przybyl says. “The brands aren’t paying us, so we can take a bit of a critical eye to their process and tell an honest story about Chicago companies and the concepts and philosophies behind them. We think it’s something that marketers and entrepreneurs can learn from, and that Chicagoans will take pride in.”

In the first episode Przybyl and Voss visited FEW Spirits, a distillery that earned such rapid acclaim and growth that it’s hard to believe the Evanston, IL spirits company is just four years old.

But FEW Spirits didn’t have an easy path to success. Founder and Master Distiller Paul Hletko had to overturn a century-old prohibition law to begin distilling grain spirits within the city limits. Hletko has grown his company in an increasingly crowded (and watered down) craft spirits market by focusing on small batch distilling all crafted in their facility just north of the city of Chicago.

Voss talks to Hletko about the purpose and pride that comes from his company’s name, the branding and label that has quickly established its position on shelves and backbars, and his connection to the community he works in.

Other brands profiled by 12 For 12 are Threadless, Reckless Records, and Cards Against Humanity with Stern Pinball and Intelligentsia and The Second City on the horizon. Check it out and come back for more 12 for 12 videos every month!
Find More info at http://twelvefortwelve.com


 

 

Chicago International Film Festival Screening and Panel

Chicago International Film Festival Screening and Panel

Most Visual is pleased to announce our premiere screening of INsite: A Document at the prestigious Chicago International Film Festival. In October 2014 Luftwerk transformed Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Farnsworth House. Through 3D mapping and projection the glass and steel masterpiece became a minimalist spectacle of light and sound. “INsite: A Document” is a pure documentary meant to preserve this extraordinary experience. The 8 minute program was divided into three sections corresponding to the structure of the house, the fluidity of its transparent glass walls, and the organic, and nature meeting geometry. The piece was created to loop and is represented here in it’s entirety with the original musical score by Owen Clay Condon.
The documentary created by Most Visual showcases the synergy of the projected art on the lean structure. INsite is elegantly re-presented from a vast combination of perspectives captured over the course of 4 nights.

Most Visual’s Chuck Przybyl will be on the Chicago International Film Festival Architecture Panel: “Filmed Spaces”:  How do directors use the language of cinema, with its demarcated frame, running time, and two-dimensional space, to capture the majesty and complexity of architecture and design—artistic mediums designed to be explored in depth and interacted with over many years? In this panel, filmmakers will discuss the methods for tackling this unique challenge to bring the wonder of the built environment to the big screen.

game of thrones online sa prevodom

game of thrones watch online free

sevdah tv

igrice za decu

Architecture Panel: “Filmed Spaces” is Sunday October 18, 2015 at 11AM at AMC River East 21, part of the CIFF.

INsite: A Document will screen on October 24, 2015 as part of The Tower Above The Earth Architecture on Film Showcase.

Renaissance Hotel Video Facade – First Look

Renaissance Hotel Video Facade – First Look

Now that the redesign of the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago is complete, Most Visual would like to formally announce their part in the creation of the front facade video installation. We are very excited and proud to be part of such a forward thinking and prominent video installation in an amazing location.

Most Visual and TKesh Creative partnered with Gettys Group design team to create a 25 minute permanent video installation on the facade of the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago. The hotel, located at the southwest corner of State St. and Wacker Dr. has undergone a massive and cutting edge renovation over the past year.

The theme of the new video wall was to explore different aspects of the hotel’s neighborhood – highlighting the theater district and nightlife, and showcasing the many sides of this vibrant area.  The content of the video is meant to be eye-catching and as current and relevant as the hotel redesign.

The six month process began in late 2014 with a series of storyboards created by Most Visual’s Creative Director Edyta Stepien. The visualization of these concepts built on the foundation of the themes brought forward by Gettys Group ultimately became the basis of the installation.

Edyta initially started by developing visuals that would consist of motion graphic particle imagery. As the team of Edyta Stepien and Marrakesh Glasspool-Frugia worked with the Gettys Group design team they were prompted to include cinematic vignettes of the city. Most Visual identified key tropes and icons that would refer back to the neighborhood as a rich resource of performance, theater, and the music.

The overarching narrative starts from particle visualization as the city is built up from elements. The downtown area is entered through a moving 3D camera POV. There is a vibrant constant movement that showcases the architecture in the immediate vicinity of the hotel. The elements solidify and familiar slices of downtown appear, the river walk area and the theater district are hinted at and ultimately fused into the experience of exploring the city.

Although the initial project was conceived as a motion graphics piece it became apparent that neighborhood locations and cinematic vignettes were going to best fit the themes. Most Visual’s Director of Photography Chuck Przybyl was brought on to shoot the location and studio scenes. For the studio production days Edyta Stepien built on her role as Creative Director and took the helm as Director – working with the  actors to push forward the greater vision of the piece. Project Manager Marrakesh Glasspool-Frugia of TKesh Creative had her work cut out for her  scheduling the 9 actors and dancers cast for the 5 studio shooting days. Fashion Designer Agnieszka Kulon of Kreatia created custom designs and styled the wonderful talent and creatives who were brought in.

The project was handled in part like a large scale conceptual art piece with cues and themes all realized by a solid team of creatives working together to create a cohesive 25 minute visual experience. The final video installation is a reminder that captivating video art and imagery can truly move people in positive ways in the public space.

Chicago Architecture Foundation – Skyline Stories

Over 8 months in production – Chicago Architecture Foundation’s new online section Skyline Stories is up and ready for viewing. Chuck Przybyl and Edyta Stepien worked with Zero One Projects and producer Nat Soti to create 40 stunning videos for CAF.  This remarkable project began as the an objective – to create 4 videos showcasing each of the 1o most iconic buildings in Chicago. The buildings selected were Chicago Board of Trade, Marina City, Willis Tower, The Rookery, Monadnock Building, Marquette Building, Thompson Center, Inland Steel Building, Harold Washington Library Center, and Tribune Tower. Each building has been meticulously filmed by Director of Photography Chuck Przybyl as Directed by Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Anjuli Maniam.

Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Skyline Stories
http://skylinestories.architecture.org

The individual videos are also available for viewing on Chicago Architecture Foundation’s YouTube portal.

I’ve posted the videos I’ve worked on and a general description below.

 

The Chicago Board of Trade for Chicago Architecture Foundation’s Skyline Stories – this was our first day of filming Chicago’s 10 most iconic buildings. I gained an awestruck appreciation for the amazing interior decor. The lines and symmetry within the building were a dream to shoot – especially for someone like me who likes details and order in composition.


I thought I knew a lot about Chicago. But when we began to find out more about our subjects for Skyline Stories I had no idea that the Chicago Board of Trade building was the tallest building in Chicago for 35 years. And that the observation deck which has been shuttered for 50 years was once the top attraction in the city. It was a great treat to find myself in one of the most unusual urban exploration spaces I could imagine.

Yes – we drove the 19 story spiral up Marina City’s famous parking garage – the first 8 floors at relatively high speed. It was amazing to gain access to this section of the building. The story of Marina City is excellent and after doing the drive up and down I can see why it must be an all valet system 🙂

One thing that stuck me on this shoot was that units next to each other can be bought and joined together, they knock down the walls and combine them. Residents jump at the opportunity to buy their neighbors place and add it to their own. Call these towers corn cobs or sunflowers – Marina City – Bertrand Goldberg’s utopian urban community is still active today.

From the bottom to the top – an overview of the tower formerly known as Sears

Three times up to the roof of the Sears Tower for this Skyline Story.
You can read more about that experience in the Roof of the Sears Tower blog post.

Tribune Tower – Chicago’s skyscraper cathedral. The secrets of this building are so vast we were only allowed access to the outside 🙂 I will not complain – mostly because we were able to gain access to the view from next door which was a wonderful way to experience the tower – although from a distance.

Tribune Tower – the story of the tower. I worked on 2 stories for each building one about it’s form and structure and one about the stories behind the building. This one discusses the architectural influences of the tower.

Marquette Building – with this building the concept of the branded skyscraper was born (in 1895). One of Chicago’s oldest standing skyscrapers. I was familiar with it from previous meetings at the MacArthur Foundation whose headquarters are located within. The lobby rotunda is a unique marvel – and trust me I wouldn’t make a statement like that often.

How the Marquette Building got it’s hat back. The story of how it was brought back to its original look with the installation of a new high tech cornice.

Monadnock Building – an architectural curiosity that is as monolithic as it’s name. This is what Wikipedia has to say “Monadnock was the largest office building in the world, with 1,200 rooms and an occupancy of over 6,000. The Chicago Daily Tribune commented that the population of most Illinois towns in 1896 would fit comfortably in the building. It was a postal district unto itself, with four full-time carriers delivering mail six times a day, six days a week. It was the first building in Chicago wired for electricity, and one of the first to be fire-proofed.”

Chicago’s Optimo Hats in the Monadnock Building brings classic quality back into our era.

The Inland Steel Building. Modernest, clean, and of course steel – a revolutionary modular open floor plan inside housed by an elegant cage.

Skyline Stories with Richard F. Tomlinson II of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill discussing working in the Inland Steel Building

I think that the Thompson Center is one of the more under appreciated buildings in downtown Chicago – it has amazing statistics – but the one that gets me is the number of glass panes viewable in one of the worlds largest enclosed spaces. It must have been something to look upon when it was built – you can view a plan on paper and try to imagine the outcome but to actually be in that place and witness the reflections in the glass and the lightplay is something else.

Cooling the massive Thompson Center with ice.

Harold Washington Library – Chicago’s colossal post-modern monument to itself. Loved by tourists, a sometimes confounding structure to locals: HWLC is big, bold, and beyond compare.

Further interest and steep, deep city trivia on this one – Chicago’s Public Library system began with a gift from from Queen Victoria after the Great Fire.

The Rookery – this is the last building of the series. Of all the ones we shot this is my favorite interior – we made good use of the jib for the atrium lobby. An amazing place to shoot.

The last video in the CAF Skyline Stories I’ve been posting. This one showcases the Frank Lloyd Wright redesign of the Rookery atrium. This series was produced by Nat Soti with Zero One Projects. Special camera assistance from Jeremy Handrup.

 

Subscribe to the mailing list